Gutter Cleaning - How to clean gutters effectively. Is there a right or correct way to clean gutters you ask? Good question. Well. There really isn't any one gutter cleaning particular right way to clean a gutter. The methods vary depending on the person or gutter cleaning company doing the task.
One thing is for certain. Gutter cleaning can be dangerous. Working off a ladder especially a small step ladder seems like a fairly innocent task - how could anything go wrong? Well, the purpose of this article is not to explain proper procedures for using a ladder but trust me - ladders can collapse in various ways. Yes. even small aluminum step ladders. Extension ladders are not set property sometimes. People can lean too far to the left or right and fall over with the ladder.
How about someone walking through a gate while your ladder is behind the gate and they don't know you are there. Wham. Not nice especially when you are up a 24' or 36' extension ladder. Some people might hold on to the gutter as they go along cleaning the gutters. It's convenient, something to hold onto. But, it can be dangerous. Perhaps the gutter is not attached properly or is attached to dry rotted wood members that you are unaware of. How would you like to be hanging on with a lot of your weight and it gives out?
You can have a real mess on your hands while cleaning gutters because you have to do something with the debris you are removing. Now, that might mean going up the ladder with a 5 gallon bucket and hook so you can scoop the debris into the bucket and dump it later. Trust me - not as messy this way. Also, the gardener of the home will be much happier with this approach than just throwing all the debris down below to clean up later.
The hardware stores generally sell little gutter scooper gutter cleaning tools that are the width of a standard gutter and slide nicely inside to scoop up the debris. Oftentimes gutter cleaners will run a hose at one end to make sure all the debris is washed down the down spout.
Of course if your downspout is clogged than it is important to unclog it so that once the gutter is cleaned new debris can work its way down. Sometimes this requires running a hose up the downspout to blow out all the built up junk. One more hurdle is to clean up the debris that comes out of the downspout. Unless it goes into a drainage system. It's important to make sure the drains are working or the downspout will back up and the gutter won't drain.
